The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers logged 265 WARN Act notices in May 2011, involving roughly 24,290 workers — climbing above April and up 28% versus May 2010. Filings came from 28 states and territories, with an average of 92 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 59 | 4,793 |
| Florida | 15 | 3,063 |
| Virginia | 13 | 2,124 |
| Texas | 35 | 1,977 |
| Maryland | 36 | 1,783 |
| New Jersey | 8 | 1,686 |
| Ohio | 10 | 1,012 |
| New York | 17 | 829 |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | 776 |
| Indiana | 5 | 757 |
| Alabama | 8 | 656 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 650 |
| Washington | 4 | 598 |
| Arizona | 3 | 442 |
| Michigan | 2 | 418 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 418 |
| Georgia | 4 | 405 |
| Kansas | 8 | 347 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 335 |
| Missouri | 1 | 291 |
| Iowa | 3 | 283 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 151 |
| Washington DC | 1 | 150 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 150 |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 101 |
| Oregon | 1 | 58 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 26 |
| Vermont | 2 | 11 |
California led the nation with 4,793 workers affected across 59 notices , followed by Florida (3,063 workers) and Virginia (2,124 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 16 | 2,830 |
| Manufacturing | 17 | 1,752 |
| Other | 14 | 1,020 |
| Healthcare | 10 | 765 |
| Retail | 8 | 706 |
| Finance & Insurance | 5 | 585 |
| Transportation | 3 | 482 |
| Accommodation & Food | 6 | 465 |
| Education | 6 | 434 |
| Professional Services | 3 | 302 |
The Information & Technology sector dominated layoff filings with 2,830 workers across 16 notices. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 1,752 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 64 | 6,737 |
| Layoff | 43 | 1,872 |
Closures accounted for 28% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Space Alliance, LLC | Titusville, Florida | 1,942 | |
| General Dynamics ("Nassco") | San Diego, California | 900 | |
| StarTek Inc | Collinsville, Virginia | 628 | Closure |
| StarTek, Inc | Collinsville, Virginia | 628 | Closure |
| Flextronics Americas LLC | Charlotte, New Jersey | 413 | |
| Amcor Specialty Packaging Glass Tubing Americas | Millville, New Jersey | 412 | |
| Premier Bankcard | Spearfish, South Dakota | 335 | |
| Zeledyne | Broken Arrow, Oklahoma | 325 | |
| Zeledyne | Broken Arrow, Oklahoma | 325 | |
| Pemco World Air Services | Dothan, Alabama | 319 | Closure |
The biggest impact was at United Space Alliance, LLC in Titusville, Florida, reporting 1,942 affected workers. General Dynamics ("Nassco") followed with 900 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
This data points to mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Information & Technology sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in May 2011. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is sourced from official state filings and updated daily by WARN Firehose. Download the full dataset or explore state-by-state data.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
